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Turkish PM: Israeli Election Results Paint 'Very Dark Picture'

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  • Turkish PM: Israeli Election Results Paint 'Very Dark Picture'

    Turkish PM: Israeli Election Results Paint 'Very Dark Picture'

    http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsD etails.aspx?id=74039&language=en

    14/02/2009

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an interview with
    Reuters and two Turkish newspapers late on Friday, said the results of
    the Israeli elections this week had "painted a very dark picture" for
    the future of Middle East peace.

    Erdogan urged the next Israeli government to look at how it conducted
    policies and actions towards the Palestinians and to lift what he
    called an embargo on the Palestinians. He said Israel's tough stance
    against the Palestinians was failing.

    "Unfortunately we have seen that the (Israeli) people have voted for
    these (rightist) parties and that makes me a bit sad," Erdogan said of
    the Israeli election result. "Unfortunately the election has painted a
    very dark picture."

    "With the ceasefire the embargo should be lifted. The Palestinian
    people should be freed from an open-air prison they are living in right
    now, this is against human rights," he said.

    In a phone call expected soon with US President Barack Obama, Erdogan
    said he would urge him to take a different approach to the Middle East
    than the Bush administration. "I am expecting President Obama to be the
    voice of the voiceless and the protector of the unprotected," he said.

    Erdogan again defended his criticism of Israeli authorities. "We have
    to distinguish between two things - the Israeli people and the Israeli
    government. I say the same to my people. I see anti-Semitism as a crime
    against humanity," Erdogan said. "I have also said that while
    anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity, Islamophobia is also a crime
    against humanity. I have said that the Jewish people should take part
    in fighting this kind of prejudice," he said.

    However Turkey's fierce censure of Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip
    will not end its role as a peace mediator in the region, Tayyip Erdogan
    said.

    "I don't think that way... Turkey is a strong country that has a
    (unique) international position," said Erdogan, speaking on his plane
    while returning to Ankara from a campaign trip to Sivas. "We were not
    the ones who wanted this negotiations role. In negotiations between
    Syria and Israel both countries wanted Turkey to be the mediator, this
    is why we took part in it. The same happened with the Israeli and
    Pakistani talks."

    He said critics misunderstood Turkish foreign policy if they thought
    the government was siding with Hamas or was against Israel. Turkey
    wanted peace in the region and was defending the helpless, in this case
    the civilians in Gaza, he said.

    Meanwhile Turkey's foreign ministry has protested to Israel over a
    senior Israeli general's remarks criticizing Turkey. The ministry said
    it summoned Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy on Saturday to discuss
    comments made Feb. 10 by Israel's Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi.

    Turkish media said the Israeli general accused Turkey of massacring
    Armenians, oppressing Kurds and occupying Cyprus. Turkey's military
    said the remarks "cannot be accepted under any condition" and "can harm
    national interests between the two countries."
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